QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC)

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern Co. (NYSE:NSC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,973 shares of the railroad operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Norfolk Southern were worth $4,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Norfolk Southern by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,162 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Norfolk Southern in the third quarter worth approximately $376,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Norfolk Southern by 8.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,108 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Norfolk Southern by 13.8% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 14,236 shares of the railroad operator’s stock valued at $3,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,724 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Norfolk Southern by 2.0% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,518 shares of the railroad operator’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NSC shares. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Norfolk Southern from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens increased their target price on Norfolk Southern from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Norfolk Southern in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Norfolk Southern from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Norfolk Southern from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Norfolk Southern currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gilbert H. Lamphere bought 607 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $259.86 per share, for a total transaction of $157,735.02. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $646,271.82. The trade was a 32.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sameh Fahmy purchased 350 shares of Norfolk Southern stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $249.37 per share, for a total transaction of $87,279.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,580,979.50. The trade was a 3.50 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Norfolk Southern Price Performance

Shares of Norfolk Southern stock opened at $245.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Norfolk Southern Co. has a 52 week low of $206.71 and a 52 week high of $277.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.77. The company has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.35.

Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The railroad operator reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.07. Norfolk Southern had a return on equity of 20.04% and a net margin of 21.63%. As a group, analysts expect that Norfolk Southern Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Norfolk Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Norfolk Southern’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.71%.

Norfolk Southern Company Profile

Norfolk Southern Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. The company transports agriculture, forest, and consumer products comprising soybeans, wheat, corn, fertilizers, livestock and poultry feed, food products, food oils, flour, sweeteners, ethanol, lumber and wood products, pulp board and paper products, wood fibers, wood pulp, beverages, and canned goods; chemicals consist of sulfur and related chemicals, petroleum products comprising crude oil, chlorine and bleaching compounds, plastics, rubber, industrial chemicals, chemical wastes, sand, and natural gas liquids; metals and construction materials, such as steel, aluminum products, machinery, scrap metals, cement, aggregates, minerals, clay, transportation equipment, and military-related products; and automotive, including finished motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as coal.